Cable #3

Jul 1993 · Marvel · 2.00 USD; 2.50 CAD; 1.55 GBP

📊 ~54,744 copies sold its debut month

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“Twenty Questions”

★ 1st appearance — Weasel

About this Issue

Cable #3 delivers the first comics appearance of Weasel (Jack Hammer), the genius-level information broker and arms dealer who would become Deadpool's most enduring supporting character — a role cemented in the two major Deadpool film adaptations. Beyond that single debut, the issue is a pivotal connective tissue chapter in the early Cable solo series: it shifts the narrative from Cable's far-future setting back to the contemporary Marvel Universe, explicitly threading story threads from X-Force and expanding the Cable-Stryfe-Tolliver triangle that defined the 1993 X-Men corner of the Marvel line. A deliberately expository 'breathing room' issue, it shows writer Fabian Nicieza deftly using a single conversation between Cable and Garrison Kane to deliver backstory while simultaneously planting subtle hints — Cable voicing Stryfe-like intentions toward Cyclops and Jean Grey — that would pay off in the 'Fathers and Sons' arc months later.

writer Fabian Nicieza · artist Ron Lim · artist Paul Smith · artist, inker Klaus Janson · artist Kerry Gammill · artist Ian Churchill · artist Paul Ryan · artist Brandon Peterson · inker Tom Palmer · inker Harry Candelario · inker Al Milgrom · inker Bob Wiacek · colorist Marie Javins · letterer Chris Eliopoulos · cover Art Thibert

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (NM) $3

CGC 9.8 · 64 in census $34

CGC 9.6 · 24 in census $20

CGC 9.4 · 4 in census $20*

CGC 9.2 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 9.0 · 4 in census $20*

CGC 8.5 · 3 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

More listings for this title

Incentive $0.99 VF $2.9 VF/NM $2.99 VF $3 NM $3 VF $3.24 VF+ $3.75 VF/NM $3.97

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History

Titled 'Twenty Questions,' the issue was written by Fabian Nicieza under editor Bob Harras and editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco, with cover art by Art Thibert. The book's severe production schedule problems are nakedly visible on the page: no fewer than seven pencillers — Ron Lim, Paul Smith, Klaus Janson, Brandon Peterson, Kerry Gammill, Ian Churchill, and Paul Ryan — split the 22-story pages among themselves, with a corresponding roster of five inkers to complete the pages. Collector and critical commentary has confirmed the issue shipped roughly five weeks late, making the fill-in roster a practical necessity rather than an artistic choice. Despite that chaotic assembly, Marie Javins's coloring and Chris Eliopoulos's lettering give the issue a visual consistency that partially papers over the seams.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Weasel (real name Jack Hammer), a genius-level hacker, inventor, and black-market arms dealer who becomes Deadpool's closest — if frequently abused — ally and confidant.
Written by Fabian Nicieza; cover date July 1993, on-sale May 4, 1993; cover art by Art Thibert; published by Marvel Comics as part of the Cable ongoing series (Vol. 1, 1993–2002).
Seven pencillers contributed to the single issue — Ron Lim, Paul Smith, Klaus Janson, Brandon Peterson, Kerry Gammill, Ian Churchill, and Paul Ryan — a direct consequence of severe scheduling delays that made the book roughly five weeks late.
The story title is 'Twenty Questions'; Cable and Garrison Kane are stranded in Cable's Time Displacement Core at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, and Kane uses the downtime to press Cable about his secrets.
G.W. Bridge breaks into Cable's Swiss Alps chalet and, through the AI program Professor, learns that Cable is still alive — a key revelation that sets up Bridge's pursuit throughout the series.
In Sarajevo, the villain Sinsear tracks Weasel while searching for both Tolliver and Deadpool, establishing the web of mercenary intrigue central to the early series.
Cable makes an alarming statement about killing Cyclops and Jean Grey — later understood as an in-story signal that Stryfe's psychic influence is bleeding into Cable's consciousness, a thread that builds toward the 'Fathers and Sons' arc.
Weasel went on to be portrayed by T.J. Miller in the 2016 film Deadpool and its 2018 sequel Deadpool 2, making this issue the print origin of a significant cinematic supporting character.